Overview

This article explains the concepts that Code42 uses to back up your data.

Backup basics

In this example scenario, the Code42 app is using its default settings and is backing up your user home directory.

The Code42 app constantly watches for new and changed files within your home directory with what we call the real-time file watcher. It adds new and changed files to a to-do list. When you create a document, the real-time file watcher sees that you've created this document and adds it to the to-do list for backup.

This is what happens when the Code42 app starts backing up your document:

Backup begins with a process called data de-duplication. The Code42 app analyzes a small piece of the file (a block), and checks to see if that block was backed up previously.

If that block was already backed up, the Code42 app moves on and analyzes the next block.

The process repeats for the next block within the file until the Code42 app has analyzed and backed up the entire file. In this way, only unique information is backed up, which saves bandwidth and storage and makes restoring faster.

Data de-duplication
Data de-duplication occurs on each computer. If you have the same file on two different computers, the file will be backed up twice—once for each computer.

New files and file changes

When you make changes to the document, the Code42 app's real-time file watcher sees that the file has changed and puts the file back into the to-do list. Only the changed blocks are sent to the backup destination, not the entire file. The changes are backed up while you work, creating a new version of your document.

In this example, you've added a paragraph (highlighted in red):

The Code42 app scans the file looking for blocks of new data.

The new (red) data blocks are:

Compressed to save space

Encrypted for security

Transmitted to the backup destination for storage

How the Code42 app detects changes

The Code42 app checks for changes in two ways to make sure the changes are backed up:

A real-time file watcher:

Uses few resources because it works directly with your computer's operating system.

Works in the background without you noticing.

File-system scan:

Requires more resources.

Runs at 3 am (by default) to avoid interfering with you while you're using your computer.

Prioritize files for backup

Of course, you probably have more than one file on your computer that you'd like backed up. The Code42 app backs up the newest and most recently changed files first. This ensures that the most recent versions of your files—what you're working on right now—are backed up first, using this priority order:

Newer, smaller files

Newer, larger files

Older, smaller files

Older, larger files

Specify backup priority

If you choose to enable backup sets, you can specify the priority of each set. This allows you to specify which files should be backed up first, if your situation doesn't fit the default prioritization above.

Select your device’s name to navigate to your device’s root folder. This selects all of your backed up files.

The Code42 app calculates and displays the total size. If this size is close to the selected size, all of your files are backed up.

Is my backup starting over?

Occasionally, the Code42 app needs to re-scan your files to see what's already backed up, for data de-duplication. When this happens, it may look like the Code42 app is backing up all your files from the beginning, but it is actually reviewing each block to see what has been backed up already. If the Code42 app is re-scanning your files, you may see one or more of the following:

Progress is much, much faster than a full initial backup because information that is already backed up is not re-sent.

All your files are available for download during this process.

The amount of space used by your backed up files is consistent with the size of your file selection and backup completion percentage. To verify the amount of space used:

Open the Code42 app.

Navigate to the list of destinations:

Code42 app version 6.8.3 and later

From Home, select Settings > Destinations.

Code42 app version 6.8.2 and earlier

Windows and Linux: Select Tools > Options > Destinations

Mac: Select Code42 CrashPlan > Preferences > Destinations

From the list of existing destinations, select the destination containing the archive you are verifying.

Verify that the Space used is reasonable for your file selection size and previous backup completion.

The Code42 app's cache
The Code42 app's cache includes information on de-duplicated data. You'll experience the above behavior if the Code42 app needs to rebuild its cache for any reason. This is something that happens on occasion under normal use.